JOHN OBI MIKEL has warned Chelsea that he will quit the club if he is not given assurances of regular football next season.

John Obi Mikel has missed just one Premier League game for Chelsea since boss Guus Hiddink arrived

Nigeria midfielder Mikel plans talks with the club hierarchy at the end of the season - and with new manager Antonio Conte if and when his appointment is confirmed - before making a decision on his future.

Mikel barely started a game under Jose Mourinho for two and a half seasons, but since interim manager Guus Hiddink took over in December, he played a more prominent role in this campaign, starting 14 of his 19 matches in charge.

The holding midfielder is in his 10th year at Stamford Bridge, making him one of the club's longest-serving players, but he has only in patches managed to establish himself as a first team regular under a succession of managers during that time.

"I have one more season with Chelsea, but I know when this season ends we will definitely sit down and try to sort out whatever needs to be sorted out," said Mikel, 28.

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"If it means me leaving, fine. If it means me staying, then I have to play because one thing I don't want to do is to sit on the bench like I did before.

"Wherever it is, I just want to play. Legacy is important, and I'm very proud and happy that I've kept this legacy to be able to achieve what I have achieved."

Mikel has been linked with a host of clubs in recent years, including both Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in Turkey, as well as sides in the Middle East, Italy and China - but proposed moves have never come off and he has stayed to fight for his place at Stamford Bridge.

Conte plans to shake up Chelsea's dismally underperforming team this summer if he arrives, and Roma's £35million Belgian international defensive midfielder Radja Nainggolan is one of his main targets.